STF nabs two alleged jihadis in Barpeta, probe underway
A senior officer said that the Special Task Force (STF) carried out an operation on Tuesday night in the Sorbhog police station area & apprehended the two accused
A file image of Sorbhog Police Station (Photo: Anit Assam/X)
Barpeta, March 11: Two persons have been arrested from Assam’s Barpeta district for their alleged links with fundamentalist groups on Wednesday.
“We have nabbed two jihadis from Barpeta last night. Their interrogation is going on, and we will share details later,” an officer at Assam Police headquarters told the press.
The Special Task Force (STF) carried out an operation on Tuesday night in the Sorbhog police station area and apprehended the two accused, a senior officer said.
The suspects were reportedly found in possession of Pakistani SIM cards.
One of the accused has been identified as Sahidul Islam, while the two are being taken to Guwahati for further interrogation.
A Barpeta district official said the operation was carried out in coordination with the local police.
However, The Assam Tribune could not independently confirm all the details at the time of filing this report.
The arrests come amid heightened security vigilance in Assam following earlier crackdowns on suspected extremist networks operating in the region.
In January this year, investigations into the arrest of 11 alleged members of the extremist outfit Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK) revealed a wider cross-border network with links to Bangladesh and West Bengal.
The group, believed to be an offshoot of the Bangladesh-based Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), was allegedly attempting to promote jihadist activities in Assam and Tripura.
Police said the network used encrypted social media platforms, including a Telegram group named “Purba Akash,” to spread extremist propaganda, circulate radical literature and recruit youths, particularly from districts such as Barpeta and Chirang.
Investigations also indicated that some recruits from Assam had travelled to Bangladesh for training, while clandestine meetings were held to indoctrinate local youths and encourage support for violent extremist ideologies.
Further details regarding the latest arrests are awaited as interrogation of the suspects continues.
With inputs from PTI